<p>I'm very, very dissatisfied of my housing assignment. I was assigned to a double, w/o AC. </p>
<p>I am OK with the house but some pretty bad things of my roommate (don't ask me how did I find out, I just know) prompted me to change a roommate.</p>
<p>The housing office said one can change from a double to a single or w/o AC to air-conditioned room but one may not change a roommate. What can I do? </p>
<p>Please Help...</p>
<p>honestly, what is so bad about your roomate that you can't stand him/her already. You have not even met him/her already. Relax</p>
<p>Wait, you can change from a double to a single but you are stuck with your roommate? How does that work? </p>
<p>I think you have that backwards. You can definitely request a reassignment in terms of roommates, but you are not allowed to request a specific type of accomodation (double, single, AC, no AC, etc). The only thing that will guarantee you AC is a medical reason. Other than that, room assignments are pretty random. </p>
<p>I'd say if you really don't like your roommate (why not give him/her a chance?), then request a reassignment.</p>
<p>What could you possibly have found out about your roommate that you already cannot stand them? Oh and the RLHS policy is that they want you to at least try living with your roommate before requesting a switch. (which is why you probably didn't get much headway) And roommate switches are really only made in extreme situations for the most part. Seriously, just try it out for a little while. It the roommate is really unbearable then talk to your RA. But I really can't think of what your roommate could have done already to make you hate them.</p>
<p>Didn't you guys JUST find out who you roommates were? What could you possibly not like?</p>
<p>I don't like my housing assignment (Blackwell Double AC) because the room is so damn small</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. guys.</p>
<p>First, let me briefly explain why I found my roommate unbearable. Your guys are right, I haven't met him yet and should give him a chance, BUT I found out my roommate happens to live and school in the exactly same city with me. You know, it is a small city and people talk, so I have heard something really negative about him and I was advised to avoid him. However, if I just request a switch, the housing office may dismiss my reason as hearsay and deny my petition.</p>
<p>
[quote]
What could you possibly have found out about your roommate that you already cannot stand them? Oh and the RLHS policy is that they want you to at least try living with your roommate before requesting a switch. (which is why you probably didn't get much headway) And roommate switches are really only made in extreme situations for the most part. Seriously, just try it out for a little while. It the roommate is really unbearable then talk to your RA. But I really can't think of what your roommate could have done already to make you hate them.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So I have to request a new room type to avoid him. I have been assigned a double, so I can either request a single or a triple. But I guess it doesn't worth the extra 1000$ for me to pay for a single room JUST TO AVOID HIM!!!
So, I am thinking to request a triple to avoid him (though I didn't like triple myself). Well, my new roommates might better or even worse than the currently assigned one. Anyway, I want take my chance. Who knows, maybe my new roommates in triple are amazing and I can accept that my new roommates are even worse than him.</p>
<p>Still, anyone can help ?</p>
<p>Well I really can't advise you without knowing why you don't want to room with him. (maybe you are blowing something out of proportion, maybe it is legit; I don't know) But I wasn't aware you could request a different room type at this point. (its been three years since I was an incoming freshman though so that could just be my memory) </p>
<p>If it is indeed possible for you to request a change of room situation then go ahead if you want to. But it isn't like you have to be best friends with your roommate, you just have to live with them. If you cannot set up rules that will let you live together then switch roommates I guess.</p>
<p>Are you getting financial aid?</p>
<p>I don't think financial aid covers requesting a reassignment that leads to a change in room type and the associated costs. All extra costs incurred in this fashion will probably have to be paid out of pocket by the student.</p>
<p>The only exception to this I can think of is AC due to medical reasons.</p>
<p>I'm not 100% sure of whether FA will cover it or not, but it's always a good idea to ask. I was assigned to an AC single when I requested a double (and I thought I was going to get a non-AC one). I emailed them and this is the direct quote from the reply:</p>
<p>"We base the aid on your actual housing costs, so we will receive a list of freshman housing assignments and housing changes and adjust the aid awards accordingly."</p>
<p>There are plenty of roommate changes in the first few months at Duke. Personally my D knew a half dozen people who changed roommates within the first six weeks. Duke has a very poor system for matching roommate - if indeed they have any system at all. The fact that you were assigned to someone from your own city and school is ludicrous, especially when Duke draws students internationally and across the nation.</p>
<p>I'd cross post your question on the Parents Forum. A lot of parents have been through this with their students and have great suggestions about roommate contracts, how to go about changing roommates, etc.</p>
<p>If you have not contacted your roommate you might want to do so. You might find your roommate is not thrilled with having a roomie from their home city and school either and the two of you might decide it's mutually beneficial to switch roommates once you arrive on campus.</p>
<p>Hypothetical situation:
I am a really light sleeper, and in high school, I had a roomate who had sleep apnea (disease which includes very loud snoring). I NEEDED a roommate switch, simply for the fact that I couldn't sleep (though my roommate and I are really good friends). so... say a situation like that arises at Duke. Would they be willing to accommodate?</p>
<p>CNI, </p>
<p>According to Duke's Roommate Bill of Rights:</p>
<p>
[quote]
This Bill of Rights defines mutual responsibilities among roommates. Each person has a basic right to:</p>
<pre><code>* Live in a clean space
* Expect that your roommate(s) will respect your personal belongings
* Study in your room without unreasonable distraction
* Sleep in your room without unreasonable disruption
* Free access to your room
* Expect that guests will visit during mutually-established hours
* A limited degree of personal privacy
* Live in an environment free of harassment and/or intimidation
</code></pre>
<p>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Provided that you try to make it work for at least a week, I think they'd be very, very stupid not to let you switch if you aren't able to sleep.</p>
<p>RLHS would make every effort to switch you out of a living situation that was truly detrimental to your living experience. (like not being able to sleep) They actually keep a certain amount of rooms open because of the switching that occurs.</p>
<p>I would try him out first.
You never met the kid- you may be pleasantly surprised.
People tend to have biased descriptions of others.</p>
<p>it's really easy to switch roommates once you're already at school. just wait and see how it works out, and if you're not happy you can request to leave. of course that also makes it awkward for the ex-roommate....but really, just do what will make you happy.</p>